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Staff Profile

Dr Christopher Tarrant

Senior Lecturer in Music Analysis

Background

I am interested in music analysis of the period 1750–1930, particularly the music of Schubert, which was the subject of my doctoral thesis. I also research the resurgence of the symphony in early-twentieth-century Scandinavia, with a particular focus on the music of Carl Nielsen. My analytical methods engage the New Formenlehre and schema theory. I am also interested in ideology criticism as explored by psychoanalytic writers such as Freud, Lacan, and Žižek. I am President of the Society for Music Analysis and I sit on the editorial boards of Music Analysis and Carl Nielsen Studies. 

Research

My doctoral research at Royal Holloway, University of London, under the supervision of Prof. J.P.E. Harper-Scott, focused on the instrumental works of Franz Schubert. In the context of the emergence of and ongoing engagement with James Hepokoski’s and Warren Darcy’s Elements of Sonata Theory, my research attempts a reassessment of Schubert’s instrumental music. Hepokoski’s and Darcy’s theory provides a framework for analytical engagement with a wide range of musics from the mid-eighteenth to the late-nineteenth centuries, and also sets the foundations for a generously interpretative approach which goes far beyond merely structural taxonomy. This lays the foundations for a more developed discussion of Schubert’s music along more humanistic lines. The argument proceeds in three broad motions. First, in light of a complete analysis of Schubert’s sonata output, the project aims to supplement and critique the theoretical underpinning already established in Elements of Sonata Theory. Second, the interpretative aspect of the thesis is grounded in theories of intertextuality and psychoanalysis, drawing significant theoretical weight from Freud, Lacan, and Žižek, and using related film theory to exemplify psychoanalytic concepts and applications. Third, the practical application of this research is demonstrated in two focused case studies, which demonstrate the benefits of this newly theorised approach and cast new light on the works in question.

In my current research, I am continuing my investigation of sonata theory as an analytical framework, but applying it to a much later repertoire. I have a particular interest in the symphonies of Nielsen and Sibelius, but Mahler, Elgar, Strauss, and others are also of significant analytical importance in my research.

I supervise doctoral research on these topics and I welcome expressions of interest from new potential PhD students.

Teaching

I teach primarily in the area of music theory and analysis, with a specialism in the concert music of the 'long' nineteenth century. My teaching interests focus on theory of form and the New Formenlehre, but extend to harmony, counterpoint, and Schenkerian analysis. I also have teaching interests in historical musicology with a focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, performance, conducting, and orchestration.

I supervise doctoral research in areas related to my research intertests and I welcome expressions of interest from new potential PhD students.

Publications